First in The Independent: Mark Aaron Gatz, 65, is facing prison time in what one U.S. Forest Service officer described as ‘possibly one of the worst residential cases he has seen’
He’d accumulated this pile during 2 years at this site, so he’s left similar messes in several other places. And he’s got a long history of careless fires, like leaving them burning, even at the height of fire season. And he’s got an SUV, so it’s not like he couldn’t have taken his trash out.
"The trash consisted of tires, plastic bags. trash bags, aluminum cans and other items of trash. I observed a canopy structure for his sport utility vehicle. The canopy structure was being utilized as a car port.”
Gatz, who is 65 years-old, according to public records, also had a fireplace with “active embers and a cooking station with 10-12 frying pans,” as well as “[d]ebris [that] consisted of three ladders, six to eight totes overfilled with debris… five black 55-gallon drums… eight tires, four bike frames, five gallons of motor oil, plywood, and other miscellaneous lumber around the campsite,”
That’s not necessary stuff, it’s a wildfire waiting to happen.
He’d accumulated this pile during 2 years at this site, so he’s left similar messes in several other places. And he’s got a long history of careless fires, like leaving them burning, even at the height of fire season. And he’s got an SUV, so it’s not like he couldn’t have taken his trash out.
"The trash consisted of tires, plastic bags. trash bags, aluminum cans and other items of trash. I observed a canopy structure for his sport utility vehicle. The canopy structure was being utilized as a car port.”
Gatz, who is 65 years-old, according to public records, also had a fireplace with “active embers and a cooking station with 10-12 frying pans,” as well as “[d]ebris [that] consisted of three ladders, six to eight totes overfilled with debris… five black 55-gallon drums… eight tires, four bike frames, five gallons of motor oil, plywood, and other miscellaneous lumber around the campsite,”
That’s not necessary stuff, it’s a wildfire waiting to happen.